U.S. Bancorp Tower vs One World Trade Center

Comparing the U.S. Bancorp Tower and the One World Trade Center is compelling because they were both designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, yet they stand in different cities (Portland, OR and New York, NY), and were completed over two decades apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places in different periods of time.

The One World Trade Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1775ft (541m) with 104 floors above ground, while the U.S. Bancorp Tower reaches 535ft (163m) with 42 floors above ground.

One World Trade Center also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 3,500,000 sqf (325,161m²), which is about 2,760,004 sqf (256,413m²) more than what the U.S. Bancorp Tower offers.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

The U.S. Bancorp Tower was designed in the Modern style, while the One World Trade Center reflects the principles of Contemporary.

The U.S. Bancorp Tower represents a late expression of the Modern, a style already in decline in 1983 when it was completed. By contrast, the One World Trade Center followed the then mainstream Contemporary, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 31 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

Both the U.S. Bancorp Tower and the One World Trade Center were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

The U.S. Bancorp Tower also provides 1005 parking spaces.

The two buildings opted for different structural and facade solutions.

The U.S. Bancorp Tower uses a Frame system, which relies on a regular grid of columns and beams to sustain its weight, while the One World Trade Center uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

And when it came to the facade, the Modular went with a Modular facade, which employs prefabricated panels, often mixing solid surfaces with smaller windows, while the One World Trade Center opted for a Curtain Wall facade, that uses a lightweight glass curtain wall hung from the structure.